


Headache

by ShadowSnowdapple



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Ozpin left a hole in Oscar's head, Pain, Talking about pain, headaches/migranes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23339581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowSnowdapple/pseuds/ShadowSnowdapple
Summary: Oscar has some issues as soon as Ozpin cuts himself off in the middle of Anima.
Relationships: Oscar Pine & Everyone
Comments: 16
Kudos: 178





	Headache

The headache was mild at first. And at first, Oscar thought it was just the stress. Everything was going on. Emotions were high. It was freezing cold. He had just been punched. A dull headache seemed warranted and normal.

It still hurt in the morning at Brunswick. But Oscar felt bone-deep exhausted and the light throbbing was easily attributed to a poor night of sleep after a rough day. When they left Brunswick and Oscar’s head still pulsed with an ebbing and flowing ache even as the exhaustion began to fall away, Oscar still wrote it off as an affect from the Apathy. 

Waking up, curled on the couch in Argus with his head still aching, Oscar felt a bit more perturbed. A stubborn ache. It must be stress, it had to be stress- and a following day of nothing _but_ stress wasn’t helpful. 

Oscar had stepped away to let off some steam. To allow himself to be upset. To be angry. To be sad.

His headache felt worse.

Oscar tried to pull it together, finally getting some quick pain pills in hope to quell the ache a bit. They worked, and Oscar was happy to pop a few before heading out with the others for their master plan to get to Atlas.

It was hard, and by the time they were all over the sea to Atlas… Oscar’s head ached again.

He considered dipping into his small supply in his tiny and- painfully pitiful- first aid kit but decided against it. It’s just a headache. There was a chance they were needed more later.

His head _ached_. It was pounding when they came across Ironwood for the first time. The faintest twinge of familiarity Oscar felt when they reached him made his head throb.

That feeling is foreign. His brain seemed to scream, trying to force out the thought like ones body would a disease. Oscar tried not to let it show, but the conversation was nothing but landmines.

“The winter maiden…” Oscar’s head throbbed.

“Communications tower…” it _hurt_.

“When I tell the world about Salem.”

It felt like someone had taken a hammer to Oscar’s skull. A wave of nausea and pain came over him and pulled away just in time for Oscar not to collapse on the floor in tears.

Telling Ironwood made Oscar’s stomach churn, but getting it out in the open felt like a relief… well… until the lies started. 

Oscar didn’t blame the others. Between Brunswick, Argus, and the pounding headache… Oscar didn’t want to deal with more of that either. But it still made Oscar incredibly uneasy. How long until this came out? How long was the worst time going to be for it to be said and it will be? When will it be too late to say anything?

“Oscar? Are you okay?” Blake murmured as they followed Penny though the halls. Penny was speaking loudly and excitedly, shouting out locations and “fun facts” as she went, oblivious to the dragging feat of the exhausted crew trailing behind. 

Oscar’s head throbbed in dismay every time Penny rose her voice. Oscar wanted to tell her to quiet down but at the same time… she looked so happy, excitedly grabbing Ruby’s arm and pointing at things, bouncing around without a care in the world. Oscar really didn’t want to burst her bubble.

“I uh… it’s just my head,” Oscar admitted.

“Your head?” Yang came up behind Blake, rubbing her face to try to keep her eyes from sinking closer.

Oscar hummed in agreement. “Headache.”

“It’s been a long day,” Blake said soothingly, “I’m sure someone will have something for that once we get to bed.”

“Yeah but how long will that be?” Yang replied dryly. Blake butted Yang with her elbow.

“Yeah yeah, gimme a sec.” Yang sped up her pace before pulling Ren back, almost causing Nora to stumble over as she was leaning on him.

“Ren, do you have some like… ibuprofen or something?” 

Ren frowned, “of course I do, is your arm bothering you?”

Yang quickly shook her head. “Nah nah, squirt’s got a headache.”

Ren’s gaze shifted over to Oscar as Penny let out another excited squeak, causing Oscar to grimace as his head throbbed again. Ren hung back to get to Oscar and glanced at him skeptically.

“How long has your head been hurting?” Ren asked.

Oscar paused to consider this. Honestly, it hasn’t _stopped_ hurting since the train crash. But this particular uptake of throbbing has started a couple of hours ago on the airship… “just a couple of hours.”

“And… the noise is bothering you?”

Oscar flitted his gaze over at Penny to make sure she wasn’t paying attention before nodding.

“Is the light making it worse?” Ren suggested.

Oscar frowned, trying to think. “I think so… yeah… it was a bit better in Ironwood’s office, where it was dimmer.”

“Migraine,” Ren said with a sigh.

“Migraine,” Blake agreed, her ears dipping. “Oh gosh, my mom used to get those like the Grimm. Maybe we should try to push Penny into wrapping this up, I know she’s having fun but uh…” She gestured to Oscar as Yang had taken the initiative, wrapping an arm around the boy and trying to covertly keep the light off of him and dampen the noise.

It wasn’t too hard to get Penny to lead them to go to bed after a little bit of coaxing. Ren ordered Oscar to go try to get to sleep the moment Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Oscar got a room.

“I’ll go see if they have heating pads, warmth on the neck is helpful for migraines.” Ren said, “drink some water and maybe you guys can get a blanket to cover his bunk? It will keep the light out.”

“Okay _mom_ ,” Nora teased, nudging him with her foot to leave.

Jaune pulled a blanket down from one of the shelves and tucked it under the mattress of the top bunk so it made a curtain for the bottom bunk as Oscar changed into his night clothes. 

Oscar tried to ignore the pulsing throbs as he cocooned himself in the bunk. It felt like forever until Ren returned, handing Oscar a small electric heating pad. 

“Just put it on your neck and try to sleep, hopefully you’ll feel a bit better in the morning,” Ren said gently, giving Oscar a pat on the head.

Oscar nodded, a bit constricted by his blankets, “thanks.”

Ren smiled before pulling the blanket back to position and shifting it to make sure it covered as much as possible. Oscar was thankful for it as, even when the lights were turned off and the curtains drawn, moonlight slipped through. Oscar could see it very dimly through the blanket, just enough to know that Ren’s idea was helpful.

The heating pad on his neck did settle some of the throbbing, but it did take a while before Oscar found himself falling into sleep.

When Oscar woke up, his head was still throbbing.

He wanted to scream but the energy needed for that wasn’t there. Any anything louder than the rustle of his blankets made his head pound. It must have been morning because the room was brighter now, and Oscar could hear hushed voices of the others getting dressed and getting ready.

Oscar squinted as he forced himself to sit. He almost fell right back into his pillow at the wave of dizziness and nausea that followed. Oscar gasped for air, trying to settle the sick feeling in his body.

Whatever noise Oscar made must have been loud enough because as Oscar sat there, head between his knees, the light in his bunk shifted as Jaune poked his head in. 

“Are you okay? Your head any better?” He said quietly.

Oscar shook his head.

“Okay, geez, okay,” Jaune’s voice didn’t do any favors in masking concern as he cautiously patted Oscar’s shoulder and then pulled the blanket back to cover the light.

“Is he sick?” Oscar could hear Nora whisper, “there’s no way a headache would last this long?”

“Migraines can last days,” Ren whispered, “things have been stressful, especially for him, we should keep an eye on him, but let’s not freak him out.”

“But what if he _is_ sick?” Jaune retorted quietly.

“We’re keeping an eye on him, just calm down,” Ren tried to soothe, “we have a couple of days anyway. But if he’s not better by tonight, we can talk to Ironwood about taking him to a doctor.”

There was a pause and some more shuffling before the light changed again. Oscar didn’t look up, keeping his head down.

“Hey Oscar, you need to drink some water,” Ren’s gentle voice was unmistakable.

Oscar hesitated before raising his head and carefully taking the glass that Ren held out. Oscar sipped on it, squinting in the dim light. Ren’s hand rested on his head briefly.

“You’re not warm,” Ren commented, “how do you feel?”

“Head hurts…” Oscar murmured, “feel dizzy, and nauseous… tired…”

“it’s probably just a migraine,” Ren said softly, “let us know if you need anything. We’ll get you some food.”

Oscar wrinkled his nose at the thought of food.

“Just toast or something,” Ren pressed, “just lay down for a while, you’ll feel better soon.”

Oscar took that advice, laying back down and cocooning himself in his blankets. His head pounded but Oscar still found himself drifting in light sleep. It didn’t feel like long until Ren poked his head in again and coaxed Oscar into eating a piece of toast, drinking more water and taking some medicine. Oscar let himself drift a bit more until he surfaced again for Nora to offer him more water and an ice pack this time. It was nice to have something different than the heating pad.

Oscar barely noticed the day go by. Around the middle of the day, Oscar noticed the room was dimmer than before and poked his head out to see that someone had covered the window as well. 

Oscar was grateful for that.

He didn’t know what time it was that Jaune popped in. Jaune placed his hand on Oscar’s forehead as the boy opened his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Jaune asked.

“Horrible,” Oscar confessed in a strained voice, “it’s like it’s only getting worse.”

Jaune’s face twisted up.

“We’ll go,” Nora’s voice murmured and Oscar flinched as he heard the door click closed.

Oscar just laid there as his head pounded, Jaune didn’t leave this time, sitting on the side of Oscar’s bed and stroking his forehead.

“What are you doing?” Oscar whispered, squinting up at Jaune.

Jaune gave a strained smile, “My little sisters just used to like me doing this when they were sick, I can stop if you want.”

Oscar shook his head slightly, “no, it’s nice.”

Oscar closed his eyes and tried to focus on the rhythmic run of Jaune’s fingers on his forehead instead of the pounding feeling.

He wasn’t sure when he drifted off again but Oscar came back to himself as he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Oscar strained to open his eyes. Jaune wasn’t sitting on the bunk’s mattress anymore, instead it was James Ironwood, a chair pulled up to the side, holding the blanket back.

Oscar’s head throbbed.

“How are you feeling now?” James asked, voice soft but it seemed to thrum in Oscar’s ears.

Oscar shut his eyes again, “awful.” His voice sounded more like a tight groan then speaking.

“It probably is for the best that I take him to see a doctor,” Ironwood said, voice a bit muffled before coming back to full, “Oscar, can you stand?”

Oscar strained to open his eyes again and carefully shifted upwards, fighting the pounding in his skull as he shifted his feet on the ground. James grabbed his arm as Oscar pulled himself up and another wave of dizziness and nausea washed over him, the pounding felt like slams of jackhammers in his skull and distantly, Oscar felt a familiar tug. Oscar faintly remembered this tug as he wavered, dazed. A way out, a muffling to the feelings of his body- Oscar let himself give into it.

Usually the tug would pull him away from his body for _him_ to take over. A slight stumble and then a regaining of composure to which Oscar could feel the muffled sensations of his body but distantly. 

Instead of a re-uptake, Oscar felt his body collapse like a sack of potatoes. 

But… he didn’t black out. Oscar could numbly still feel his body, he could see the ground start to rush to him before James pulled him tightly.

“Woah, careful there,” James said gently.

But Oscar’s body did not move. Oscar could not move it. It was like he was too far away from the controls. He could feel them, but couldn’t move them.

“Oscar?” James asked, pulling the boy into his arms. Oscar could see him, staring down at him, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak…

“Did he pass out?” Nora said, rushing up.

“His… his eyes are open,” Jaune murmured.

“Oscar?” James shook him a bit. Oscar fought to move his mouth to close his eyes- to do anything, but it was like playing tug of war with someone, but unlike before with Ozpin, Oscar couldn’t feel anyone else there.

“Is he _breathing?”_ Nora barely held back from screaming.

“Yes,” James replied in a strained voice, “he’s blinking too… Oscar, can you hear me?”

Oscar tried his hardest to move, to scream, to make any voluntary movement but it was like he was glued to the passenger seat of a car.

“What’s going on?” Ren said, his usually calm voice was strained now.

James shook him again. “Oscar, come on, you need to answer me. Blink twice. Make a sound.”

Oscar struggled. He could see it. He could hear it. He was there, damn it-

It was like flipping a magnet. At one point Oscar felt pushed away by an unstoppable force then suddenly snapped back forward.

Oscar lurched, gasping loudly as the hazy, muffled sensations of his body returned to full. His head still ached, he still felt horrible, but Oscar laid there, clutching his chest.

“Oscar!” 

Oscar grimaced at the chorus of noise, half almost wishing to be dragged back to where it didn’t hurt again.

“Oscar, are you okay? What happened?” Jaune said quickly, leaning over him.

Oscar rubbed his face, frowning. “I… my head still hurts.”

“You just, froze,” Ren said, “was it a seizure?”

“I don’t know,” Oscar murmured, “it was like… being switched… I could hear and see everything but I couldn’t _move_.”

“Like… switched with Oz?” James scowled.

Oscar nodded. “But… he wasn’t there. No one was there.”

“That’s not creepy,” Nora whispered.

James’s face didn’t move. “Either way, you’re seeing a doctor.”

Oscar held his head in his hands, “how do I explain that? I was just shoved off of the controls for my body for a minute?”

“None of that yet,” James sighed, “Just to see what this… headache is.” James stood up and didn’t bother trying to help Oscar up this time and just hooked his arms underneath the boy and lifted him up.

* * *

They didn’t say anything, but Oscar thought the Atlas doctors seemed a little annoyed. Not with him, mind you. Oscar’s hushed “thank you”s and “I’m sorry”s had lead almost every one that had passed by give him a kind and sympathetic smile at the very least if not a few kind words along the lines of “you’ll feel better soon”.

Oscar figured it was the fact that General Ironwood had bust in with a child with a headache and demanded a handful of tests.

“No need to get too stressed out,” one said gently as they helped Oscar lie down in some sort of imaging device that Oscar had never heard of, “it’s probably just a migraine. It _is_ sweet to see General Ironwood so worried about a kid.”

Oscar chuckled weakly, “he’s not usually like this, huh?”

They chuckled back. “Oh no, I have never seen him act so worried. Just lay there while we get some pictures but between the two of us, I think I’ll just hand you some good headache medicine and you can get back to bed.”

Oscar followed them with his eyes as they walked back into another room where Oscar could see Ironwood pacing behind a glass window.

Oscar laid there, staring up at the mass of metal that reached around him.

“What were you doing before your headache hit?” One of the doctors asked over the intercom. The slight ring in the feedback made Oscar’s head pulse.

Oscar frowned, not sure how to phrase ‘I got in a train crash and then an argument with the immortal man in my head.’

“I… I got in a fight,” Oscar murmured, squinting at the thought of Jinn’s story. It hurt to think about.

“With Grimm?” Another asked.

Oscar sighed but answered, “Yes.”

There was a small pause before the intercom clicked again. “The reactions between the two statements were different, can you be more specific?”

Oscar shivered. He couldn’t talk about Ozpin. He couldn’t say anything. Ironwood didn’t know and these doctors sure as hell were in the dark.

There was a pause. Then the general’s voice. “Does this have to do with things we discussed in my office?”

“Yes,” Oscar replied in a small voice.

There was another long pause before Ironwood spoke again. “What does the office at Beacon look like?”

Oscar’s brain pulsed with pain. It was like agony. He could swear he saw hazy glimpses of _something_ but he couldn’t hold onto them and every time he tried to reach for them a new pulse of pain shot through his skull.

Oscar barely noticed someone picking him up and hushing him gently. Slowly the pain dulled into a throb as Oscar felt himself be carried into another room. He opened his eyes slowly to see it was James Ironwood who held him.

“Are you back with us?” He asked gently and Oscar nodded.

“We are… confused,” one of the doctors spoke up. “Your brain reacted like it was trying to retrieve a memory before flaring up in activity- but there are no signs of any head injuries or brain damage.”

James scowled. “I see. Thank you.”

“General Ironwood this doesn’t make any sense,” another said, “this is obviously causing him a lot of pain and we need to know what-“

“ **Thank you** ,” Ironwood repeated, cutting them off. Oscar clutched James’s coat as his voice rose, the rise in volume making Oscar flinch.

Oscar let himself doze again as Ironwood carried him around a bit more, speaking in hushed tones about pain medication and side-eyed questions about previously used psychoactive drugs or neuroleptics or other medications that apparently affected brains, but it wasn’t like Oscar had ever heard of them. Oscar vaguely remembered murmuring an answer that he had never had to take anything like that before dozing again.

He woke up again in his bed, a new ice pack on his head and a pile of extra blankets on him, another, thicker blanket now covering his bunk like a curtain.

Oscar mumbled a bit, getting up again to find Ren sitting at the desk.

“You’re awake again, how do you feel?”

“Hurt,” Oscar mumbled, “not as bad as before though.”

Ren smiled a little, “that’s good. It’s about dinner time, do you want to go meet up with the others and get some food? It might help.”

Oscar nodded quickly, noticing how empty his stomach felt.

Ren helped Oscar into a sweatshirt (it was probably Ren’s or Jaune’s because of how big it was on Oscar) and into a pair of shoes before shepherding him to the Academy’s mess hall. There was a constant buzz of noise of various other students sitting and chatting at other tables as Ren lead Oscar to one larger table with almost everyone else there. 

Yang and Blake were sitting next to each other, talking with Jaune and Weiss, Ruby was leaning over Nora’s shoulder as they spoke. Even Penny was across the table from them, looking excited to add to whatever conversation they were having.

Weiss was the one to notice them approach.

“Oh, Oscar, you’re up!”

The table turned around quickly and everyone beamed and exploded into a stream of: “how are you feeling?” “Do you want some food?” “I’m so glad you’re okay!” And so on.

Oscar chuckled airily as he clutched Ren’s sleeve.

“Give him some space,” Ren chastised, leading Oscar to sit down in between Nora and Blake, “I’m going to get you some soup, anything you don’t like?”

Oscar shook his head and Ren patted his shoulder. 

“Nora, Jaune, keep an eye on him.” Ren ordered quickly.

“Yes _mom_ ,” Jaune rolled his eyes dramatically but smiled at Oscar.

“We heard you had an interesting day,” Yang leaned forward to catch Oscar’s eyes, “hospital trips are such a drag, trust me, I know.”

Oscar shrugged, “it wasn’t too bad, everyone was nice.”

“But you feel gross and there’s like- three different people fussing over you,” Yang groaned, “I feel uncomfortable just thinking about it.”

Weiss snorted, “you let _Blake_ fuss over you.”

“ **Hey!** ” Yang rose a fiat in defiance, “she does _not_!”

“We fuss over _each other,”_ Blake corrected in a teasing voice.

Yang’s face turned a little red, “You’re not _helping!”_

“It’s nice to take care of people you care about,” Nora argued with a little bit of a teasing smile, “No need to be a tough guy.”

Yang puffed her cheeks and Ruby giggled as Blake put an arm around Yang and made a few sarcastic ‘hush hush’ sounds.

Ren returned, looking confused at most of the table looking largely amused and Blake cooing at Yang while Yang looked pretty angry but was letting it happen.

Ren scoffed a bit before putting down a bowl and a spoon with Oscar and walking to the other side of the table to sit between Jaune and Penny.

“What’s going on?” Ren asked as he set down his own food, another bowl of soup and some fruit.

“We’re teasing Yang,” Penny remarked bluntly.

Ren chuckled, “I see. That’s nice.”

“Hey!” Yang yelled again, only for Blake to make another over exaggerated ‘hush’ and try to rock Yang side to side. Yang looked resigned to her position.

Oscar sipped some of his soup as the group slowly fell back into smaller conversations. 

“But really, how are you feeling?” Jaune asked after Oscar had gotten a bit of a way into his food.

“I’m okay,” Oscar replied softly.

“You collapsed with Ironwood and really scared us,” Nora said, moving a little bit closer to Oscar, leaving Ruby to chat with Penny.

“It… it scared me too,” Oscar murmured, “I couldn’t move… I was just… stuck.”

Jaune nodded, obvious sympathy in his eyes. “Ironwood debriefed us after you guys got back. He was hoping to talk to you too, but you were pretty out of it. So he just asked us to pass stuff along.”

“I uh… yeah I don’t remember even getting back,” Oscar admitted, “I felt really tired.”

“I swear he was about to force your medicine down your throat,” Nora snorted, “I have never seen that man look so much like a weird dad.”

Oscar frowned, “I definitely don’t remember that.”

“It’s okay,” Ren said, “Apparently because this has to do with well… your situation, Ironwood didn’t tell the doctors a lot so they just gave us stuff for normal migraines. It must have worked because you’re up and doing alright.”

Oscar shrugged. “But… what are we going to do then? Just… keep at this?”

“Well, yes and no,” Nora leaned a little closer, “first off, Ironwood said he was going to discuss it with Pietro, and if he didn’t have any ideas that he would ask if Pietro knows anyone trustworthy who _would_.”

Oscar nodded, that seemed fair.

“And uh,” Jaune looked sheepish, “that we should lay off talking about uh… _you know who_ and stuff you uh, shouldn’t know.”

Oscar immediately scowled. “What?”

“It gets worse when you start trying to recall Oz’s memories,” Ren said cautiously, “so like any migraine trigger, we should avoid it.”

Oscar slammed his hands on the table, “I can’t just _avoid it._ He’s in _my head_!”

“It’s only until we figure out what we can do about it,” Jaune tried to rationalize, “we don’t want you hurting yourself.”

“We’re _worried_ about you,” Nora added, “and we’re not going to leave you in the dark.”

“But _everything_ about this whole thing is a _minefield_. I felt ready to scream when we were talking to Ironwood when we first got here, we can’t just _not_. You can’t leave me behind like this!” Oscar cried.

Nora quickly wrapped her arms around Oscar. “We’re _not_ I _promise.”_

“When we don’t have to we’re just not going to,” Jaune added, “if you have to spend a whole day in bed because we were talking about all of this, we should just… try to save it for less often.”

“We just don’t want you suffering,” Nora said, giving him a small squeeze.

Oscar blinked a few times as his head started to ache again. They didn’t understand. Pulling away felt just as painful, if not more, than staying. Thinking about not doing anything- not working against Salem- it hurt. It felt _wrong_ but Oscar couldn’t tell why and it _hurt._

“Okay,” Oscar muttered. They smiled at him. 

* * *

The Schnee Manor felt like a bomb in Oscar’s head. The airy, uptight atmosphere, the high class clothing and decor it was like nothing Oscar had ever seen.

But it was obviously something _someone_ had seen because Oscar immediately felt like curling up in the corner where it was quiet and dark.

Oscar leaned on Jaune’s arm. It was a regular occurrence for the Huntsman now. Between training and meetings Oscar found himself leaning on Jaune whenever his head started pounding. Jaune had picked up on the sign.

“Really, now?” Yang whispered, noticing Jaune moving to get a firmer grip on Oscar incase the boy lost his footing, “Has Oz been here?”

Oscar groaned, “Not sure if it's here specifically or if it’s just the uptight and passive aggressive atmosphere.”

“Both are possible,” Weiss huffed, “I don’t remember Ozpin ever coming here, but it’s possible he came here _before.”_

“Or he’s had to attend way too many bougie parties,” Nora countered.

Oscar grit his teeth, “either way it hurts like…” Oscar bit back a curse.

“Take your medicine,” Jaune elbowed Oscar before Oscar begrudgingly reached into a pouch to grab a pill as Ruby handed over the closest non-alcoholic drink.

“Now the next order of business,” Yang continued, “Weiss?”

Weiss rolled her eyes, “I’ll be back and I’ll stay in touch.” She started to the stairs only to be stopped by her younger brother.

“This kid needs to _buzz off,”_ Yang hissed, “we need a-“

Oscar was following along with the situation but was still waiting for his medication to kick in when he felt a familiar tug in his brain. Oscar had but one moment to think of a curse and none to shout a warning. This hadn’t happened since that first day- suddenly it was like he had been yanked back into numbness, and saw and floor rush toward him. 

Unfortunately, Jaune had already let him go a second before to Oscar felt a muffled slam on his shoulder as his body fell like a rag doll.

Everyone in the room flinched back, there were some yells of surprise and shock.

“I guess that works too,” Oscar heard Yang say, sounding a bit exasperated. 

Jaune carefully moved Oscar into a more comfortable position as the guests, morbidly curious, craned their heads and started to slowly approach the situation.

“Come on, give them some space,” Oscar heard Harriet keeping the mass of them at bay as Jaune started carefully talking to Oscar.

“Oscar, please tell me you’re not stuck again,” Jaune whispered.

Oscar, to his credit, could not do that. Oscar did his best to try to wrestle back control of his now “unmanned” body, but it was getting increasingly frustrating.

“Is there a doctor here?” Someone asked loudly, no one who Oscar recognized. There were some murmurs, but no takers.

“Should we call someone?” “Aren’t you supposed to time seizures or something like that?” The chattering began to get louder, it was making it hard to focus on trying regain control but it wasn’t like Oscar could yell for quiet.

After a few moments a familiar voice rang above the chatter. “What’s going on out here?”

Winter.

Oscar tried again to reach for control but once again fell back.

“It’s Oscar,” Nora said in a softer voice, Winter had probably walked up. Oscar couldn’t tell, all he could see is the ceiling and Jaune.

“He collapsed?” Winter sounded concerned but frustrated and her voice turned sour, “Did he eat anything?”

“I don’t think it’s that,” Blake was quick to answer before dropping her voice, “is this like that other time you guys mentioned?”

“Yes,” Ren sighed, “he just- came back last time.”

Oscar felt a pang in his chest at the worry in their voices.

“Should I go tell Ironwood?” Winter whispered, “I knew it wasn’t safe to bring him.”

Oscar wanted to crawl into a hole but any movement was a bit beyond him right now.

“We can’t just call him away, Jackass Schnee will think that’s retreat,” Harriet hissed quietly.

“Jackass,” Yang snorted under her breath.

“Maybe we should find Qrow?” Marrow offered.

“I’ll check over there,” Ruby’s voice chirped up before a couple footsteps retreated.

Oscar felt Jaune pick him up and could more clearly see the room around him. Many people were staring, the remaining Ace Ops were quietly standing by, putting up a bit of a barrier between Oscar and the party guests. It looked like Marrow and Ruby had left to find Qrow, and Weiss was nowhere to be seen. However, Whitley stood by the stairs… staring. One of the servants began to lead Jaune into another room, it looked like a small smoking room like most very old houses have.

Jaune thanked the servant and settled Oscar down on a couch.

"You're going to give us all heart attacks," Jaune sighed, "Just get out here as soon as you can, seeing you all vacant like this is really scary."

Oscar wanted to settle Jaune's nerves. Tell him that he was okay. That he wasn't hurt. That there was nothing wrong. In truth, Oscar was terrified. He felt trapped inside his own skin. Oscar reached out again, only to feel pushed back into the passenger seat.

"Okay, what's going on?" Qrow groaned, walking into the small side room.

"We think Oscar got kicked out again. We told you about that," Jaune explained, "he said he could see and hear before, but it didn't last nearly this long last time."

Qrow nodded and knelt down before sitting with his back to the couch, "For now, we can't do much. Sometimes you need to accept that. Oscar, you just need to do your best to get back out here."

Oscar fought again, trying to shove whatever invisible force was keeping him back.

_This is my body,_ He screamed in his head, _Not Ozma's and definitely not yours!_

Oscar's body gasped and coughed. The ripples of pain returned as Oscar caught his breath. Qrow and Jaune hopped up, rubbing Oscar's back and speaking softly.

"Hey, you're back," Qrow murmured as Oscar swallowed a sob. "It's okay."

"How are you feeling?" Jaune asked gently.

"Head hurts." Oscar reported, "But I can move my fingers."

Jaune let out a dry laugh. "Good to hear."

Qrow and Jaune helped Oscar to his feet but Jaune ended up lifting Oscar onto his back.

"What if people get upset?" Oscar asked, leaning into Jaune's shoulder anyway, liking how warm it was.

"You just collapsed in the middle of a party," Qrow chuckled, "no one cares."

Jaune wandered back out with Oscar and Qrow split off again, probably still wanting to avoid the wine in the main room.

"There's our favorite farm boy," Nora said in a chirpy voice, "Glad to see you up and about."

"I'm alive," Oscar reported, "Not sure about 'up'."

"This counts," Ren replied in a humored voice.

Nora explained that the remainder of team RWBY had left to go back up Wiess with something. Oscar stayed on Jaune's back and sipped some water for a while until someone skimmed past him quickly.

Oscar turned around to see Clover passing by. Clover also paused then turned around, locking eyes with Oscar, still on Jaune's back.

"Is something going on?" Oscar asked as Jaune and the others noticed Clover now.

Clover frowned and then tapped his foot for a second. "Oscar, could you come with me? I get this feeling like we'll need you."

Oscar hesitated but nodded and Jaune let him down slowly.

"Keep an eye on him," Jaune said quickly.

Clover gave him a quick thumbs up before holding out his hand to Oscar, "I hear you're not feeling well, maybe a little luck will help?"

* * *

Oscar wasn't sure if it was luck that kept him from collapsing again while he spoke to Ironwood. But if it was, Oscar was thankful. The pounding in his head was unbearable, but somehow, Oscar powered through it. Following Clover and team RWBY out the door, Oscar stumbled and held his head.

Ruby turned around. "Are you okay?"

"My head is trying to kill me," Oscar remarked, "Something just feels- off. I don't like it."

"We... We haven't told Ironwood about Salem yet," Ruby murmured, "Maybe that's it? I was thinking, that it might be good to tell him now."

"Maybe," Oscar said, rubbing his head again.

"I'll go tell him," Ruby said quickly, moving to pass him.

"Ruby! We gotta go!" Marrow called after her.

Ruby scowled and Oscar shook his head, "I'll do it. It's not like I'm going to fight anyway, If I pass out or something I'm sure Ironwood will make Winter take me back."

"You've really been pushing yourself today, Oscar," Ruby frowned, "I _know_ you're not feeling well. We can all tell."

Oscar shook his head, "Ruby, it's _fine_ even if I'm out for the next two days after this it's okay. I'll stay in Atlas."

"Okay," Ruby sighed before reaching up to ruffle his hair, "Don't pass out and hit your head."

"I _won't._ Geez, you sound like _Ren_." Oscar teased.

Ruby snickered and raised her voice, "Do I **look-** "

" **Ruby** ," Marrow shouted.

"The meme police are here," Oscar grinned, "Get out of here."

Ruby grinned and they waved at each other as they parted.

Oscar half-stumbled back to the door to the meeting room. Every step made his head ache more.

_I've done this before-_

_It never goes well._

_She's going to leave me-_

_They won't understand-_

Oscar's head spun with half-formed memories that stung when he tried to follow them.

When Oscar reached the door he almost got hit with it as the door opened.

Robyn Hill stared at him in shock. "Oh it's you, the kid."

"I... need to speak to Ironwood," Oscar said in a small voice, feeling his skull thrum when the sounds echoed in it.

Robyn frowned, "Are you... okay?"

Oscar shook his head, "I'm fine, this is more important."

Robyn sighed and opened the door again. "Ironwood, Kid Oz is back. He says it's important."

"It's Oscar," he muttered as the other two Council membered rose from their seats in surprise. Ironwood turned around in his seat.

"Oscar, you should be on your way back."

Oscar shook his head, "no, I need to tell you something."

"Sit down first," Robyn scolded, sweeping him into the chair next to Ironwood, "You look ready to drop."

Ironwood frowned, "Oscar, is this really so important that you're harming your health like this?"

Oscar nodded,"Yes sir."

Ironwood waved his hand, "Give us a minute, if you would."

The others stood up and left the room.

Going over the story was agony. Ironwood almost made Oscar stop a few times, but Oscar refused to let some stupid Ozpin-shaped gap screw him over twice in the same evening. Ironwood looked distraught. He looked to be fighting to hold it together as Oscar tried not to cry with the throbbing in his head.

“How could Oz keep this from us?” Ironwood was trying hard to keep his emotions held in.

Oscar grit his teeth as the answer came to him, clear as day. “He didn’t want you to lose hope. To give into fear. We’re sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, we weren’t sure who we could trust.”

“I’m surprised the others didn’t tell me that day you collapsed,” Ironwood said darkly, “Oz didn’t just fade into the background, he cut himself off from you. It _hurt_ you.”

Oscar shook his head, “that’s not the point-”

“No, Oscar. You told the doctors your were in pain since a fight. What _fight?”_ Ironwood’s tone hardened.

Oscar shivered and placed his head into his hands, “It wasn’t a fight… more like an argument…”

“So you’ve been in pain ever since Ozpin cut himself off from you?” Ironwood pressed, and Oscar nodded. Ironwood sighed loudly. “We’re going to do everything we can for Mantle, until this is all cleared up you need to _stay_ at the academy. You’re in no shape for a fight after today. You’ve obviously run yourself ragged with this entire situation. I’m surprised you haven’t collapsed.”

Oscar chuckled dryly, “Oh, I did that _right after_ I got here. I’m more surprised I haven’t made it twice in one night.”

Ironwood groaned. “No more surprises, Oscar. I don’t think I could handle it. Go back and get some rest.”

“I will.”

* * *

Oscar crawled into his bunk, making sure the thick curtain that had been attached to the bed was pulled over to block all the light from coming in. With all the comotion, Oscar didn't feel comfortable leaving the lamp away from him, so he bundled up the glowing relic in a blanket to stop the light from bleeding through. Oscar's head _pounded_ , it was frustrating. Oscar almost felt sick to his stomach with the pain. Whenever things were like this, Oscar didn't know how time passed. It felt like time stretched so long. Every second containing its own minute. Had an hour passed or just a minute? Is it still night? Is it morning? Oscar didn't dare check.

A loud knock on the door disturbed Oscar from his stupor.

What time is it?

Oscar moved the curtain, attaching the lamp to his belt and getting up. The lights were still out and Oscar didn't want to turn them on. His head throbbed as the knock on the door came again. Oscar groaned and opened the door. Standing there was... Winter Schnee.

"Winter?" Oscar groaned, rubbing his head and shielding his eyes from the light that poured in, "Is something wrong?"

She just looked at him and then pointed at his belt. The lamp.

Oscar frowned. This was strange. "Yeah, I uh- I'm protecting it."

Winter held out her hand and wave her fingers in a 'give me' motion.

Oscar frowned, grabbing the lamp with his hand, "I- Winter you're acting weird. I know I'm not well but I can-"

She lunged forward, her hand skimming the lamp. Oscar jumped back, stumbling a bit before quickly running to his bed, grabbing Long Memory and holding it out like a feeble shield. "Winter, what are you doing?" He yelled, gritting his teeth.

She smiled, a snide smile that didn't look quite right on Winter's face. In a wave of shattering light, her form was replaced. Smaller than Winter, standing there was a young woman with long hair. Half of it a cotton-candy pink and the other dark brown. Her eyes were the same- each a different color. A black bowler hat on her head, a cropped blouse, slacks, boots, long white gloves-

Oscar... had _no idea_ who she was.

She smiled, twirling a frilly parasol in her hand, pointing the tip at him and pointing at the lamp with her free hand and then tugged her hand back curling her fingers.

_"Give me that"_

Oscar tightened his hand on the lamp, extending Long Memory into a staff. "No."

* * *

Oscar didn't think he could keep this up. Even when Atlesian Knights appeared at the commotion, the girl just took them out without breaking a sweat.

With his head pounding, it was hard to keep his Aura steady, earning him a couple of bruises and a few cuts here and there. His body felt heavy and every once in a while, Oscar would feel a creeping numbness and a pull which Oscar would frantically fight against. The halls of Atlas were like a maze and Oscar struggled to keep running through the immaculate walls and sharp light that made Oscar's head throb.

Something hooked his foot and Oscar tumbled over, he would have skinned his arms and knees if he hadn't been able to keep his aura up. The girl grinned as Oscar hissed at the pounding of his head, the lights around him flaring brightly. She grabbed him roughly by the collar, a smirk on her face as she pulled the lamp off his belt before carelessly dropping him onto the ground. She winked at him and her form flared again. Then Oscar was staring at himself.

She moved her hands loosely, a palm down from her chin and then twisted her fists with her thumbs up.

_"Good try."_

Oscar tried to reach out- to grab her- she was going to get away-

The tugging returned, the bright lights flared and danced- Oscar felt sick- it hurt-

His body fell like a ragdoll. Oscar wanted desperately to cry, but he couldn't move.

Time seemed to drag on slowly. That girl was long gone and Oscar knew he couldn't fight her- not like _this_. Nobody passed by.

"Oscar?"

"Oscar?"

Eventually he heard yelling. It was Jaune and Nora. They were looking for him. Oscar's heart squeezed in his chest. He failed them. He was supposed to watch the lamp and he lost it. Oscar could still hear them calling- sporadically Ren's voice joined them. Oscar thought to himself that he should be fighting for his body back. To call back. To get help. To apologize.

_Part of me doesn't want them to find me_ Oscar realized sadly. Every part of him felt frozen. He didn't want to face this. He didn't want to admit that he had failed.

"Oscar?!" Nora's voice was louder now, but Oscar couldn't turn his head.

The sound of footsteps slamming down the halls.

"Oh no no please- Jaune!" Nora sounded desperate as her voice got closer.

_No, don't look at me._ Oscar found himself thinking.

Hands grabbed him and turned him over, Nora looked down at him with wide eyes. "Oh no, oh gosh- you're breathing, thank goodness." Oscar swore he saw tears in her eyes. "I think he got stuck out again," Nora turned her head as Jaune and Ren fell into view.

"He's... hurt," Ren breathed, eyes wide.

"Over there!" A stern voice yelled.

Nora quickly swept him up, "We have to go."

_What's going on, why are we running?_ Oscar thought, confused. Nora was clutching him tightly, Ren close behind, Oscar was able to spot Jaune taking up the rear, holding his shield up, protecting them from the thundering sounds of bullets.

Oscar felt another squeeze of his heart. He was slowing them down. Oscar stole himself, pulling together his energy to struggle again, shoving against the wall that kept him from his body, pleading to get back, to not drag them down, to help-

His body shuttered in Nora's arms and Oscar gasped, fighting down the returning rush of nausea and pain.

"Oh thank goodness you're back," Nora held him tighter as she ran, "Just stay there, I have you."

Oscar felt them quickly turn corners, spinning around until Nora slowed down. Oscar opened his eyes and glanced up. It was the training room. Jaune rushed to Nora, both of them carefully maneuvered him to the ground, Jaune checking Oscar's cuts and bruises, using what Aura he had left to start to heal them while Nora and Ren carefully updated him on the situation.

"What in the world happened?" Jaune asked, folding back Oscar's sleeve to check a gash on his arm.

Oscar looked away. "A... a girl showed up. She looked like Winter at first but then she... _changed_. She took the lamp- I tried to stop her- I did-" Oscar's throat closing up with a sob, "but I couldn't and just after she took the lamp I just-" Oscar waved his free arm vaguely and shuddered, trying to swallow the sob. 

Jaune gave Oscar’s hand a squeeze, “it’s okay, you did what you could.”

“It wasn’t good enough,” Oscar replied coldly.

Jaune’s expression fell, a sad pained look.

“Hello?” A staticky voice was heard.

Jaune pulled away and fished out his scroll. “Doctor?”

A familiar laugh rang out of the scroll, “Atlas’s Finest mind!”

Jaune stood up, a grin forming on his face as they started to speak. Oscar frowned, staring at the door. He had already failed one thing- now the General was planning on abandoning everyone- to take the lamp and the Spring Maiden and run away to where no one could get them. It would be safe. But everyone else would die. No. No Oscar had to do something.

Quietly, Oscar ducked his way around the other’s view, slipping out of the practice room, quickly fishing out his own scroll and putting the com in his ear to try to stay connected as long as he could from the situation.

“Oscar?” Jaune suddenly yelled.

“There’s something I need to do!” Oscar replied quickly.

“You’re hurt! Get back here right now!” Nora hissed.

“You are in no physical condition to be out by yourself-“ Ren added.

Oscar did his best to pick up the pace. No one else knew where the relic was. “No. Only I can do this, and I need to do it alone.”

“Oscar!” Jaune’s tone was stern, stressed, worried-

Oscar just knew Jaune would try to follow him. Oscar tore the com out of his ear- a short lived plan to stay updated- and tossed it down a hallway as he passed then threw his scroll down another.

No. He had to do this alone.

The throbbing in his head- the sick feeling in his stomach- the hazy memories and half-formed feelings- they didn’t matter. Oscar shoved them as far from his mind as he could, gritting his teeth as he reached the elevator.

Oscar remembered the day Ironwood had taken him here. The General was nervous and had blocked out the whole day to deal with any adverse affects of showing Oscar something like this- a place that Oz had made himself. It had been a struggle to stay there, but Oscar grit his teeth and did his best to stay upright.

He had to do better than that. Oscar stole himself for the pain as he slipped into the elevator. As it descended Oscar steadied himself with the cane.

“-and who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” Ironwood asked.

Oscar tightened his grip on Long Memory as he approached. “It’s still just me.”

Ironwood narrowed his eyes, “You look much better than the last time you were here, but was it really wise? You look… unwell.” His voice was cold- much different than the softness Oscar had been used to from him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Oscar shot back, “This- this needs to stop.”

Ironwood looked at Oscar- that same cold look in his eyes. “I see you didn’t bring the lamp with you. Smart. I wouldn’t trust me either. You _know_ this won’t change, Oscar.”

“But it can!” He insisted, taking a step forward ignoring the pounding pain and the taste of a familiar name on his lips _if she would just_ ** _listen to me-_**

“We- we can't just abandon Remnant like this and leave millions to die so a few can live!” Oscar pushed through the hazy feelings, trying to look Ironwood in the eyes without flinching to the feeling of _this is familiar- this is familiar but who do when-_

“All excellent philosophical ideas that _won’t matter_ if Salem wins,” Ironwood scoffed.

“Listen to me!” Oscar’s ears rang.

“No, you listen!” Ironwood hissed back, walking forward as Oscar stepped back. His eyes were cold and _dangerous- her eyes were cold and dangerous when I told her she couldn’t listen-_ “I am **done** others inability to see the big picture get in the way of doing what’s right. Robyn, the council, the kingdom… even you.”

Oscar gritted his teeth, feeling the pulses of pain of _this is familiar but I can’t rememberer but it’s there-_

A sudden calm came across the roar of feelings and thoughts that couldn’t become cohesive and Oscar spoke. “Then you’re as dangerous as she is, James.”

Usually, Oscar would bite his lip at uttering something out loud but it was like every hazy thought and feeling lined up into a unified cold rage that boiled in his chest- 

“James,” the general sighed, “That’s what my friends call me.”

Oscar stood his ground, indignantly glaring, not wavering not moving-

“To you, it’s General.”

Oscar had no time to react as Ironwood quick drew with his right hand-

_BANG_

A shattering feeling rippled across Oscar’s skin as a shooting pain flared up from his chest and through the tips of his fingers, the recoil shoving his light body back, the ground sliding against his heels until there was just air.

There was a moment, a brief instance where they met eyes- Ironwood’s gaze was dull and unmoved as the air began to rush under Oscar and he was falling.

It was dark. The empty eyes of Ironwood kept stuck in Oscar’s head and that look- that _expression-_ it felt like a searing pain in his head. It was blinding and familiar and yet so foreign and hopeless— 

Oscar’s head spun as the world rushed all around him, pain vibrating in his body and the world bent around his vision because Oscar was sure that he was crying but he felt so empty, there was no reason it just hurt everything _hurt_.

Then it felt warm.

Like someone was clinging to him tightly.

_Oscar_.

A gentle and familiar voice whispered.

The pain that blasted through Oscar’s skull washed away with the warmth, those hollow eyes that Ironwood had the familiar look- _that’s how my eyes had looked_ \- Oscar’s brain filled in the flickering memories. It wasn’t the hazy feelings of images that made Oscar’s head buzz and ache but a simple recall, as clear and solid of a memory as the farm’s horizon at dawn.

Oscar’s chest still stung but his head felt clearer than it had all month. And he knew what he had to do. Oscar reached out, barely able to reach it, but Oscar managed to grab Long Memory from where it was falling near him. Sucking in a cold breath, Oscar gripped the handle, feeling the cane extend and pressed down on the switch.

The presence that held him grew ever warmer, an energy flowed through Oscar’s veins and in a flash, Oscar knew what to do.

He stared down at the fast approaching floor of Atlas—

And blew through it.

Oscar composed himself through the fall down. The crisp, cold air stung his skin but every sensation felt clearer- realer. It was like Oscar had left a haze he never noticed he had entered. The snow on Solitas glowed in the red dawn light, the brisk air swept past him, tangling his hair and roaring in his ears.

Despite the weariness and the ache that spread across Oscar’s body, he felt stronger than ever before.

It was a bonus when he was able to land on the frozen ground with a forcefield. Oscar stood, steading himself on the icy ground.

“This power, these memories- you’re back,” Oscar smiled at the sky, watching the clouds of his breath dissipate.

_Oscar I’m so-_

“No, that’s not important right now,” Oscar quickly cut him off, “what’s important is how we’re going to save Atlas.”

There was a humorless chuckle. _You’ve grown. But really- I didn’t know how much I would have hurt you… I can’t apologize enough for that._

Oscar sighed. “It’s fine,” he said, “we can worry about that later. We’ve got-“ Oscar turned around to start his way to Mantle and froze, seeing the growing darkness that swarmed in the air, “-bigger problems.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact, most of this was written while I, myself, had a migraine. it was my therapy.


End file.
